Blackout Material

ABSTRACT

A blackout material is provided and includes a woven fabric including a weft set and a warp set, the weft set being black. More than 50% of a first surface of the woven fabric comprises the warp set. The blackout material further comprises a light excluding coating on the outer surface of the woven fabric, the light excluding coating including at least one black layer. A method of making a blackout material is provided and includes weaving a woven fabric including a weft set and a warp set, the weft set being black. More than 50% of a first surface of the woven fabric comprises the warp set. The method further comprises applying a light excluding coating on the outer surface of the woven fabric.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to blackout material and tomethods of making same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional draperies are primarily designed for style and appearanceand are generally made from premium fabrics of various colors anddesigns. However, such fabrics are generally ineffective for preventinga substantial quantity of light from penetrating into a room. Blackoutdraperies and drapery linings are typically used by hotels and motels inorder to ensure that guest rooms can be maintained substantially dark atall times of the day. Blackout draperies are also used residentiallywhere the amount of light penetration into a bedroom at night may beconsiderable due to sources such as street lights, light from adjacentbuildings, and automobile headlights. Blackout draperies or draperylinings are generally made of a woven textile substrate. The substrateis also coated with one or more layers of an acrylic latex basedcompound or foam, treated with resins such as water repellent, with anadhesive compound, or with fire-retardant materials, or with selectedcombinations. For many applications, it is essential that the blackoutdraperies or drapery linings are flame retardant. Flame retardancy isusually achieved by application of a suitable coating.

However, conventional blackout fabrics present numerous disadvantages.For example, blackout fabrics are often bulky and stiff due to theirmanufacture. Additionally, such blackout fabrics drape poorly and have ahigh cost of production. Further, to provide a blackout fabric withoutpin holes through which light passes, the material must be of a plain,flat weave. This limits the amount of design and texture of the facefabric.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved blackout material thataddresses these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One objective of the present invention is to provide an effectiveblackout material for preventing a desired amount of light from passingthrough the material. Other objectives are to reduce the costs of makingsuch material and to provide a woven textured material with surfaceinterest.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a blackoutmaterial comprises a woven fabric including a weft set including aplurality of black weft yarns and a warp set including a plurality ofwarp yarns. The woven fabric has a first surface and a second surface,and more than 50% of the first surface comprises the warp set.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of makinga blackout material comprises weaving a woven fabric including a weftset and a warp set, the weft set being black, the woven fabric includinga first surface and a second surface. More than 50% of the first surfacecomprises the warp set.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following detailed description of the embodimentswhich are illustrated in the drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of a woven fabric according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a cross-sectional view of the woven fabric takenalong the line 2A-2A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the woven fabric takenalong the line 2B-2B of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an interlacing diagram showing a face surface of the wovenfabric of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a coated blackout material accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings, and particularly FIGS. 1-4, a blackoutmaterial 10 is illustrated according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The blackout material 10 includes a woven fabric 12 thatincludes a weft set 14 and a warp set 16. The weft set 14 includes aplurality of weft yarns used in weaving that are oriented in the crossmachine direction of the weaving loom. The weft set 14 includes blackweft yarns that create light exclusion properties. The warp set 16includes a plurality of warp yarns used in weaving that are oriented inthe machine direction of the weaving loom. The weft yarns are at a rightangle relative to the warp yarns.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the set of warp yarns 16 are selectivelyinterlaced with the set of weft yarns 14 using a weaving system suchthat the woven fabric 12 is warp-faced. In other words, the set of warpyarns 16 are selectively interlaced with the set of weft yarns 14 suchthat a face surface 18 is predominantly composed of the set of warpyarns 16 and a back surface 20 is predominantly composed of the set ofweft yarns 14. In various embodiments, the weft set 14 may form morethan 50%, more than 60%, more than 70%, more than 80% of the backsurface 20. The woven fabric 12 includes long, floating black yarns andis tightly paralleled. The yarn characteristics and weave structure maycreate a smooth back surface 20 for improved coating adherence andblackout quality.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-3, in an embodiment, a weaving systemincludes a repeating pattern 22 that is 5 weft yarns by 5 warp yarns.The set of warp yarns 16 may be selectively interlaced with the set ofweft yarns 14 such that a first warp yarn 16 a may float over four weftyarns before passing under a first weft yarn 14 a. Second and third warpyarns 16 b, 16 c also float over four weft yarns before passing undersecond and third weft yarns 14 b, 14 c. The second warp yarn 16 b isadjacent to the first warp yarn 16 a, and the second weft yarn 14 b isseparated by two weft yarns from the first weft yarn 14 a. The thirdwarp yarn 16 c is adjacent to the second warp yarn 16 b, and the thirdweft yarn 14 c is adjacent to the first weft yarn 14 a.

The characteristics of the weft and warp yarns may vary. For example,the size of the weft yarn may be, without limitation, 50 D, 75 D, 100 D,150 D, 200 D, 250 D, 300 D, and 450 D. For example, the warp yarn sizesmay include, without limitation, 50 D, 75 D, 100 D, 150 D, 200 D, 250 D,300 D, 450 D, and 600 D. Further, the warp yarn may be dyed or printed.The fiber material or blend of the weft and warp yarns may vary. Theweft and/or warp yarn may be made of, without limitation, polyester,cotton, linen, rayon, viscose, bamboo, nylon, polyamide, polypropylene,or a combination thereof. The weft and/or warp yarn may be traditionalyarn, flame retardant (FR) treated yarn, or inherently flame retardant(IFR) yarn (e.g., polyester).

The blackout material 10 may be constructed in different configurationsof warp and weft yarn and weaving techniques. For example, theappearance of the weave may be, without limitation, plain, box, dobby,jacquard, satin, knit, linen, brushed, textured, etc. Further, thenumber of yarns per inch in each of the weft set 14 and the warp set 16may vary with the desired fabric appearance. Although only one weft set14 and one warp set 16 is shown, the blackout material 10 may includeone or two weft sets 14 and one or two warp sets 16 depending on desiredsurface appearances. Further, to achieve a variety of decorative fabricsurfaces, the blackout material 10 may be woven with texture patterns orwith use of warp yarn characteristics such as slub yarn, flat yarn,brushed yarn, yarns of varied thickness or texture, and various fiberblends. The blackout material 10 may be used in draperies, draperylinings, or roller shade products.

With reference to FIG. 4, in an embodiment, the blackout material 10 isconstructed with the woven fabric 12 and a light excluding coating 24 onthe surface 20 of the woven fabric 12. The light excluding coating 24includes a first coating layer 26 and a second coating layer 28. Thecolors of the coating layers 26, 28 may vary. For example, in anembodiment, the first coating layer 26 is black. In an embodiment, thesecond coating layer 28 is white or another light color, such as ivory,ecru, etc. Further, it should be recognized that the coating layers 26,28 may have other colors depending on the desired appearance of theblackout material 10. One or more layers 26, 28 of the light excludingcoating 24 may optionally be flame retardant (FR). In addition to thecolor, the composition of the layers 26, 28 may differ. The material forthe light excluding coating 24 may include, without limitation, one ormore of acrylic, titanium dioxide, flame retardant agents, such asdecabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and antimony(III) oxide, and othercompound agents. Further, the material for the light excluding coating24 may be foam. Although two coating layers are shown, it should berecognized that the light excluding coating 24 may include only onelayer (e.g., for use in residential applications) or more than twolayers (e.g., three, four, etc.). Each coating layer may have a weightof from 35 to 90 gsm. For example, an initial coating layer (not shown)may be applied to the woven fabric 12 before the black coating layer 26.The blackout material 10 may have a reduced basis weight and thinnerprofile compared to conventional blackout material, which creates anaesthetically attractive product.

With further reference to FIG. 4, the light excluding coating 24 mayoptionally be flocked. For example, a flock layer 30 may beelectrostatically applied to an outer surface 32 of the light excludingcoating 24. The flock layer 30 may be made of, for example, Rayon,polyester, cotton. The flock layer 30 may be applied using othertechniques and materials known in the art.

Still referring to FIG. 4, additional coatings 34 may be applied to thewoven fabric 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the additional coatings34 are applied to the face surface 18 of the woven fabric 12.Alternatively, the additional coatings 34 may be applied to bothsurfaces 18, 20 of the woven fabric 12. For example, the woven fabric 12may be immersed in a coating material. The additional coatings mayinclude, without limitation, a water repellant treatment, soil and stainresistance treatments, antimicrobial treatment, etc. In an embodiment, awater repellant agent may be applied and cured before the application ofthe light excluding coating 24. A suitable water repellant agent mayinclude silicon. For example, the coating 34 may include a fabricsoftener, which provides a water repellant finish. In anotherembodiment, some applications of the blackout material 10 may require atopical FR treatment prior to applying the light excluding coating 24 inorder to meet fire or safety codes.

A method of making the blackout material 10 is now described. The wovenfabric 12 is woven using, for example, black weft yarn and white warpyarn. The woven fabric 12 may be constructed on typical water jet, airjet, rapier loom, or projectile loom for example. The woven fabric 12may optionally be prepared for application of the light excludingcoating 24 by applying a water repelling agent 34 to woven fabric 12.For example, a water repelling agent 34 may be topically applied to bothsurfaces 18, 20 of the woven fabric 12. Depending on the material, theadditional coatings 34 may be cured. A first, black coating layer 26 isapplied to the surface 20 of the woven fabric 12, followed byapplication of the second, white coating layer 28. During theapplication of the second coating layer 28, the blackout material 10 isexposed to a calendar operation and curing process to bind the coatinglayers 26, 28 together. The crushing effect of the calendar and the heatand dwell time in a finishing frame result in the binding of the wovenfabric 12 to the light excluding coating 24 and the adhering of allcoating layers 26, 28 together (i.e., the binding agents in the lightexcluding coating 24 are chemically cross-linked).

Although only certain exemplary embodiments of this invention have beendescribed in detail above, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that various modifications can be made without departing fromthe principles of the present invention. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A blackout material comprising: a woven fabricincluding a weft set including a plurality of black weft yarns and awarp set including a plurality of warp yarns, the woven fabric having afirst surface and a second surface, wherein more than 50% of the secondsurface comprises the weft set.
 2. The material of claim 1, wherein morethan 80% of the second surface comprises the weft set.
 3. The materialof claim 1, wherein each of the warp yarns floats over four weft yarnsbefore passing under one of the weft yarns.
 4. The material of claim 1,wherein at least one of the weft set or the warp set are flame retardanttreated or inherently flame retardant.
 5. The material of claim 4,wherein at least one of the weft set or the warp set are made ofpolyester.
 6. The material of claim 1, further comprising: a lightexcluding coating on the second surface of the woven fabric, the lightexcluding coating including at least one black layer.
 7. The material ofclaim 6, wherein the light excluding coating includes at least oneadditional layer.
 8. The material of claim 6, wherein the lightexcluding coating is flame retardant.
 9. The material of claim 8,wherein the light excluding coating comprises acrylic.
 10. The materialof claim 1, further comprising: a flock layer on an outer surface of thelight excluding coating.
 11. The material of claim 1, furthercomprising: a water repellant agent on the second surface of the wovenfabric.
 12. The material of claim 1, further comprising: a topical flameretardant agent on the second surface of the woven fabric.
 13. A methodof making a blackout material comprising: weaving a woven fabricincluding a weft set and a warp set, the weft set being black, the wovenfabric including a first surface and a second surface, wherein more than50% of the second surface comprises the weft set.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein weaving includes floating each of the warp yarns overfour weft yarns before passing under one of the weft yarns.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: applying a light excludingcoating on the second surface of the woven fabric; and binding the lightexcluding coating to the woven fabric.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein applying a light excluding coating comprises applying a firstblack coating layer and applying a second coating layer.
 17. The methodof claim 15, wherein binding includes exposing the woven fabric andlight excluding coating to a calendar operation.
 18. The method of claim15, further comprising: applying a flock layer to an outer surface ofthe light excluding coating.
 19. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: applying a water repellant agent to the woven fabric beforeapplying the light excluding coating.
 20. The method of claim 15,further comprising: applying a topical flame retardant agent to thewoven fabric before applying the light excluding coating.